


It's Only a Matter of Time

by trashytiegs



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempt at Humor, Betaed, Blood and Violence, Brotherly Affection, Canon-Typical Violence, Dialogue Heavy, Dysfunctional Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, F/M, Family, Family Bonding, Family Drama, Fighting, Flashbacks, Gen, Humor, Let Number Five | The Boy Say Fuck, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Number Five | The Boy-centric, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Apocalypse, Protective Siblings, Some Humor, Swearing, The Handler is creepy, There Will Be Fluff (eventually), Time Shenanigans, Time Travel, Violence, Whump, new powers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:00:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22034443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trashytiegs/pseuds/trashytiegs
Summary: Five must band together with his siblings in order to stop the apocalypse. The Handler has other plans for him though.Starts during the events of the bowling scene, right before Vanya causes the apocalypse.Beta read by Johnny_Roundy, who has also helped me create the fabulous f*ckery that comes with time travel.
Relationships: Allison Hargreeves/Luther Hargreeves, Dolores & Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 144





	1. The Meeting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Johnny_Roundy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Johnny_Roundy/gifts).



> This is my first time posting on this platform so you could say I'm a bit of a noob. Also have never written anything for this fandom so this should be fun. Tags will be updated as I post more chapters.
> 
> Chapter 1 is heavily inspired by that one scene from Mr Robot (you'll know if you've seen the show).

It’s after the very awkward reveal that Luther somehow got laid with his half-ape body, Allison storming off and Klaus joking about bestiality with Diego almost gagging, when the distinct sound of a message-in-a-tube can be heard from the bowling dispenser. Five feels a sudden chill run down his spine as he peers over his shoulder to where the sound came from; he has enough on his plate with Vanya on the verge of causing the apocalypse he dedicated his entire life to preventing. He doesn’t need the extra challenge of the Commission he thought he had destroyed.

“Of course it couldn’t have been that easy,” Five mutters to himself, cautiously approaching the dispenser. He reaches in and grabs the metal tube which reads ‘FOR THE ATTENTION OF NUMBER FIVE’ and, upon further inspection, has a Chinese fortune cookie inside. It crumbles with ease within his hand, leaving a trail of crumbs on the otherwise clean floor. Ben notices his older-younger sibling suspiciously by himself, and urges Klaus to check on him.

“What’ve you got there, buddy?” Klaus asks, putting his hand on Five’s shoulder who quickly pulls away.

“Nothing of your concern.”

“Aw c’mon, I thought we were past this whole ‘I must do this alone’ Archie Andrews complex?” he replies, pouting as he puts his hands on his hips. Klaus can see Five holding a small piece of paper with a slight tremble in his hands, but the bastard won’t let him get close enough to read it. Good thing Ben is dead and invisible so he can invade his siblings’ privacy whenever he wants – but Klaus would never say that out loud.

Klaus turns to Ben and whispers, “Ben, I need you to invade our sibling’s privacy!”

“Klaus, do you really want to die? Let me tell ya, it’s not fun, and I would know. I’m an expert at being dead,” Ben replies, and Klaus gives him a ‘I don’t believe you’ look. “Okay it’s a little bit fun but that’s beside the point.”

“The point is, our baby brother could be in trouble, and you wouldn’t want  _ him  _ to die, would you?” Ben brings his hand up to his chin as he contemplates being stuck with an angry, dead Five.

“You’re right, I’ll do it,” he says as he bends over Five’s shoulder to read the message.

Klaus jumps and claps his hands, “that’s the spirit! Pun intended.”

“You know, I can hear everything you’re saying right?” Five turns, unamused, and elbows Klaus in the stomach which causes him to bend over in pain.

“Ow- What the hell was that for?” Klaus asks through exasperated coughs.

“For being annoying and ordering our dead brother to do your dirty work,” Five scoffs.

“But- but Ben likes following orders! It gives him something to live for!” Ben shakes his head in disappointment. “Sorry,” Klaus says unapologetically.

Five elbows him again. “And don’t call me a baby again, or I’ll take those dog tags of yours and stick them down your throat.”

“Okay okay, sorry!” Klaus whimpers. “Geez. Look man, I’m- We’re- Me and Ben, and maybe Diego if he stops brooding in front of the mirror like a sad Bruce Wayne-“

“Klaus.”

“Yeah, sorry. We’re just worried about you. You’ve been shaking like a recovering addict for the past few minutes,” Klaus says, with more seriousness in his tone now. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m- It’s nothing, and I’m not shaking. Don’t compare me, or this, to your drug habit.”

“It was a figure of speech.”

“Yeah, you should work on that,” Five says with his sarcastic smile. Before Klaus could even respond, a flash of blue light appears before his eyes, and the boy disappears.

“Shit! Ben, did you manage to read it?”

“Yeah. It said ‘time marches on… or does it? There was also a location, I think. Rain Quail, room 12. Any ideas?’”

“No but our ex-cop, crime-fighting vigilante might know.”

~

Five arrives at the location momentarily after jumping. It’s remote, practically in the middle of nowhere, and looks to be like some sort of hotel. Images of birds are plastered everywhere on the walls which are painted a bright turquoise colour. The atmosphere is eerie which puts Five on edge as he quietly tiptoes through the corridors, peeking his head around every corner before continuing to make his way to room 12.

A familiar stench crawls its way into his nose, causing Five to heave as a sudden wave of nausea overpowers him. Burning, rotting bodies. He can’t tell if this is part of his PTSD coming back to bite him in the ass, or if someone is actually burning somewhere. For their sake, he prays it isn’t real.

With hesitation, Five follows the deathly smell; it grows stronger and becomes more prominent when he reaches a red door, coincidently numbered ‘5’. ‘No, this definitely isn’t a coincidence’ he thinks to himself as his body begins to sweat profusely. “Ah, I see you’ve found your surprise,” a woman’s voice says from behind him. “You weren’t supposed to find it yet.” Five almost jumps out of his skin; he’d recognise that voice anywhere.

After working for the Commission, not much scares him anymore. Taking on hundreds of contracts meant Five became exceptional at reading people’s body language and predicting their next move - after all, he had to study his targets in order to eliminate them successfully. However, the Handler is an entirely different story. She is calm and collected, rarely showing emotion, and Five could never predict anything she ever did. It terrifies him. “What is- What is this?” he asks with a shaky voice.

She takes a step forward, pulling back her black veil and revealing a large scar on her chin. “Hello Five,” she smiles.

Five grits his teeth. “Answer the question.”

The Handler takes another step closer to Five as she laughs. “Oh silly, I already told you. It’s a surprise! I wouldn’t want to ruin it for you.”

“I don’t like surprises,” he bites back, watching intensely as she closes in on him.

“You don’t like anything, Five.”

“I like my family.”

“All of them?” She questions, inches away from Five’s face. He tries to take a step backward, only to find his back hit the door. It took every inch in his body not to jump away to safety, but even if he got away, he knows she can easily find him again. He needs to end this here and now.

“What do you want?” He figures he could buy time by pretending to give a shit about her intentions whilst he comprises a plan to kill her once and for all.

She quickly pokes him on his nose, scrambling his thoughts for a second. “Just to talk. Last time we spoke we weren’t on good terms.” ‘That’s an understatement’, he thinks to himself. Last time they spoke he is pretty sure he blew her up with a grenade. “Walk with me?”

The Handler places her hand on his back and urges him to walk slightly in front of her; he can feel her hand stroke up and down his body, and Five wants nothing more than to curl into a ball and hide. “You’re probably wondering how I survived the explosion,” she says, looking down at him. Even though he can’t see her face, he knows she is waiting for a response, but he won’t give her one. There are more important things to think about, like how a slice to her neck could be quick, but not efficient, as Allison proved. “Luckily for me I stopped time right as it went off and was able to make an escape. Although, had I been quicker, I would’ve stopped it before the shrapnel hit my face. Gloria wasn’t as lucky though. She was so close to retiring too. So tragic.”

Five remains silent and deep in thought, until the Handler stops him and pinches his cheeks. “What’s the matter, Five? Cat got your tongue?”

“I was just thinking how good it is to see you again. I knew you’d survive,” he lies.

“You’re a terrible liar.”  _ Shit. _ “But you’re just so cute in those schoolboy shorts,” she giggles, releasing him from her surprisingly strong grip. Five raises his hand to his face to rub his sore cheek, now sporting a red handprint.

“You’re not mad?” He doesn’t mean for his voice to sound so small.

“No, I’m not mad. I’m furious.” Five’s heart rate increases significantly as panic starts to spread through his veins. “You blew up our company, tried to murder me and in the process permanently scarred my face, killed many of our employees and stole one of our invaluable briefcases which I’d like back by the way! But the thing that frustrated me the most,“ she puts her hand under his chin, bringing his face up to meet hers, “is how you broke my trust.”

An audible laugh escapes his lips, mostly out of nervousness but also because of her naivety. He thought she was smarter than that. “Why did you think I would stay true to our deal?” He smacks her hand away from his face.

The Handler adjusts the ring on her finger, rolling her eyes. “Honestly, I didn’t. A small part of me had hoped you would enjoy your new position. You can’t deny that you and I make a great team, Five. After all, we have so much in common, what with our love for problem-solving and time manipulation powers.” Five sighs, annoyed. “However, I knew you were only using me to find a lead on how to stop the apocalypse.”

“Then why? Why make the deal if you knew I’d steal the intel?”

“Because that was just a small part of events to come. You know how it works. Everything happens for a reason. Small things lead to something  _ bigger. _ ” Her eyes glisten with insanity as a smile stretches across her face. Realising that this chain of events was all planned, Five finds himself at a loss of words. “Poor little Five. You know, you’re quite dashing when you’re silent.”

“At least tell me why we’re here. What the ‘big picture’ you so surely speak of actually is.”

“It’s basic math. I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet-“

“Out with it, Handler!” He shouts, grabbing her black coat by the collar. “I don’t have time for your fun and games anymore!”

She puts her hands on top of his, prying open his grip to show she is much stronger than he is in his current body. “The apocalypse, of course. This is all a distraction to keep you away from your siblings.” Five feels a foreign feeling which he assumes is embarrassment. ‘How could I have been so stupid?’ Scrunching his hands tightly into a fist, about to jump, the Handler interrupts. “Oh, before you leave, wouldn’t you like to see our guest in room 12? You’re very familiar with them. You’ve been keeping them waiting for a while.”

Five furrows his brows and sprints towards the room, using his shoulder and built-up momentum to barge open the door with great haste. The sight of Dolores tied to chair, hanging over the edge of a hot-tub, immediately stops him in his tracks. If this was anyone else, they’d be laughing at the image of a mannequin being held hostage. To Five though, this mannequin is very important; she helps keep him grounded. “Dolores!” He screams, panicking. The Handler is stood next to Dolores with a knife, ready to cut the rope that is suspending his partner above the tub.

“What a beautiful name. How did you come up with it?”

“I know you’re scared Dolores, but I won’t let anything happen to you!” The mannequin remains silent and motionless. “I love you too.” He turns to the Handler. “Let her go!”

“Poor choice of words, Five. If I let her go, she will fall straight into this tub of hydrofluoric acid where she will melt away.”

“Please, don’t do this!  _ I need her! _ ” Five cries, tears threatening to spill from his terror-stricken eyes. He regrets showing weakness as he watches the Handler’s usual blank expression grow angry.

“You look pathetic right now, Five. This isn’t like you. This isn’t the you I fell in love with.” Without warning, she brings her hand up to the rope in a rapid motion, slicing through it swiftly. Five jumps to catch Dolores who falls graciously off the chair towards the acid, but before he could grab her, the Handler stabs the knife into his chest. Stumbling backwards, he wheezes and coughs out a small pool of blood. A sizzling noise fills the room as Dolores wastes away, inches away from where Five stands, clawing at his neck for the oxygen he is losing. “Now, I’m not a doctor, but even I can tell that this doesn’t look good for you Five. I’m pretty sure I just punctured your lung,” she calmly states, stroking the knife still stuck in his body.

“D- Dol- Dol..or..es,” he cries through raspy, strangled breaths.

The Handler laughs in amusement. “Wow,” she begins, circling him as he struggles to remain standing. “Even during your final moments, all you care about is  _ a mannequin? _ Please, stop! You’re cracking me up! I’m not wearing any panty-liners and you know I dribble when I laugh.”

Five spits in her face. “She’s not… Just a ma- manne..quin. She’s fam- fam-“

“Fam?”

“Fam..ily..” Blood trickles down the edges of his mouth which the Handler wipes away with her sleeve, smudging it across his alarmingly pale face.

“You’ve gotten soft with your old age. I don’t like it,” she snaps, pushing the knife in further. Five screams out in pain, scratching at her face with his bloody fingers. With a firm grip, she begins twisting the blade, causing blood to ooze out of the giant hole in his body. He desperately tries to push her away, but quickly loses all strength as he feels all life being drained from him. Instinctively, Five reaches for the inside-pocket of his blazer, scrambling to find the small throwing knife he somehow managed to steal from Diego when he was taken to his ‘apartment’.

“Looking for this?” The Handler chimes, waving Diego’s knife in front of Five’s face, teasing him.

“H-How?”

“One of my many skills is sleight of hand. It was very easy, actually,” she brags, carving a precise line across Five’s chin. “Now we’re matching!” A miniscule amount of blood drips down the blade, which she brings to her lips and licks clean off. “You taste delicious.”

Five grimaces as he continues to wheeze. “Your breathing doesn’t sound that good, Five. Your chest cavity must be filling up with air and compressing your lung. I’d say you have about ten minutes until you go into full cardiac arrest.” He coughs up more blood before his legs give out and he collapses onto his knees. She bends down to meet his face once more, smiling as she says, “or you might just drown in your own blood.” The Handler pats him on the shoulder, making him shudder, and pulls down her veil as she turns to pick up a briefcase. “Anyway, playtime is over. Places to be and plenty of people to kill! It was nice seeing you again, Five. I’m sorry it was under such misfortunate circumstances, but I’m glad we had a chance to say our final goodbyes. Oh, and before I forget. Your surprise is still waiting for you in room 5,  _ if _ you can make it there alive. By the looks of it though, you won’t last much longer.”

“B- B-“ he hacks.

“Bye?”

“ _ Bitch. _ ”

“Goodbye Five.”

A flash of blue light and then Five is completely alone.


	2. In Theory

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this chapter whilst listening to the song "Outro" by M83 (totally not due to the finale of Mr Robot). Listen if you want the full experience :)
> 
> Thanks to Johnny_Roundy again for beta reading, and also helping me come up with the angsty, sadistic plot that is soon to follow.

“Allison, would you please just stop for a seco-” Luther shouts as he grabs her arm and, in return, receives a slap to the face. “Alright, yeah. I deserved that.” Guilt washes over him as he watches Allison fight back her tears.

Ever since they were kids, they have always been close - closer than the sibling kind. He used to believe it was due to their shared trauma or hatred for Reginald. However, as he grows older, he realises it is much more than that. It’s the way she’d sing in the shower in the morning, pouring her heart and soul out, waking everyone up. The way she’d tie her hair using that stupid pink hairband with the butterfly on it, which he bought for her 11th birthday using his father’s credit card; he never told Allison how his father beat him with his belt after he found out. Or the way she’d stroke his hair after he had a nightmare, staying with him until he fell asleep, humming lullabies. Sure, she had many imperfections and made plenty of life-changing mistakes, but that’s what makes her Allison. If you still want to be with a person during the worst periods of their life, then they’re someone special to you.

“The sex wasn’t good,” he says, embarrassed, and Allison raises her eyebrow in disapproval. Luther has never been good at opening up to others, or comforting them, or anything social now that he thinks about it. “N- That’s not what I meant!” She leans against the wall and taps her foot, waiting for him to explain. “I was upset about, you know, Dad. At first I tried drinking, thinking it would stop me feeling this… Emptiness. But it didn’t work. And then I went to a club. I don’t know why - maybe I was lonely. I just wanted to be around people and enjoy the things I missed. It all happened so fast, and to be honest I don’t even remember most of it. I just remember waking up next to a stranger,” he looks down at his shorter sibling to meet her eyes, sadness in his expression. “I wish it was you that I woke up next to.”

Allison studies his face, taking note of how his eyes are red, as if he’d been crying, and how his cheeks are turning a rosy pink, most likely from embarrassment. She pulls out her notepad and writes ‘it’s okay’, turning it to Luther so he can read. “No, it’s not okay. I promised you when we were younger that I wouldn’t let anyone ever hurt you. All I’ve done is hurt you,” he strokes the bandage around her neck, “and I wasn’t there for you when you needed me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She takes his hand which is twice the size of hers, and gently presses her lips against his skin. Luther lets out a quiet whimper, eyes filling up with water. “I’ve never been sure about anything in my life, especially now that I know I’ve wasted years on the moon for Dad’s fake project. But the one thing I am sure about, is you, Allison,” he smiles, bringing her hands close to his chest. They both start to lean in closer when Allison notices they have a small audience, causing her to quickly pull away. Luther looks at her, confused, until he follows her gaze and finds Klaus leaning over a table, smiling like an idiot, and Diego facepalming.

“Oh, don’t let us interrupt this hot moment,” Klaus chimes with admiration.

“Doesn’t this gross you out?” Diego questions, folding his arms.

Klaus laughs. “Dude, I see dead people. People without their limbs. This is nothing.”

Diego’s eyes widen. “Yeah, we’re going to talk more about that later.” He looks towards his other siblings. “Can you guys hurry it up? In case you’ve forgotten, the end of the world is happening and our brother is missing. Again.”

“What?” Allison and Luther say simultaneously.

“What?” Klaus says, hands covering his agape mouth, pretending to be shocked. Diego shoots him an angry look. “Sorry. Felt left out.”

Diego sighs. “Klaus and I-”

“And me,” Ben adds.

“And Ben.”

“And Ben, are gonna go after him.” Ben pumps his fist in the air with glee from being acknowledged and tries to high five Klaus, but his ghostly hand glides straight through. Klaus shrugs at him. “We have a location and think it has something to do with those guys he worked for. It was probably a trap, so we’re gonna make sure he’s alright. In the meantime, please get a room and at least come up with some sort of plan to stop Vanya.” Luther looks at Allison, flustered. “Not in that order.”

“Yay for a road trip!” Klaus sings.

“Yay!” Ben joins.

“Our brother could be dead,” Diego states in a deadpan manner.

“You can’t let anyone ever enjoy a single moment of happiness, can you?”

~

‘Shit. I’m going to die here. I’m alone. I’m going to die alone.

I’m alone.

No. I need to snap out of it.

I’m alone.

Maybe I can reach the phone, call for help. Crap. I don’t know anyone’s numbers.

I’m alone.

Stop panicking Five. You need to control your breathing. Slow down your breaths. Remember what Ben taught you. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

I’m going to die alone.’

It takes a minute too long for Five to compose himself and gather his thoughts. ‘If I pull out the knife, it will just speed up the process. I’ll bleed out, or maybe choke first. But leaving it in hurts like hell and I can’t move. I can’t fucking move.’ It’s ironic, he thinks; he came back to stop his siblings from dying, but got himself killed instead. ‘No, I need to stop thinking like I’m going to die. I’m going to be fine.’ He lets out a choked sob, followed by a cough and a loud screech as the knife tears at his skin with every minuscule movement his body makes. Using every bit of strength he could muster, Five brings his hand up to touch his stab wound. Crimson red covers his fingertips down to his palm, and his arm drops to his side as he loses all feeling. Numbness soon takes over his limbs and deprives him of any feeling, darkness threatening to take his vision.

Staring at the ceiling is just about the only thing he can do right now. That, and regretting everything he ever did; like how he regrets disobeying his father and time travelling to the future, separating himself from his family and throwing away any chance at having a decent life in a pre-apocalypse world. How he regrets neglecting Vanya and not interacting with her more, or being kinder to his siblings. How he regrets joining the Commission and murdering hundreds of innocent people to preserve the timeline, all for what? So the apocalypse can happen? It all seemed pointless. Everything is pointless. ‘No, my love for my family is not pointless.’ He regrets not telling his siblings where he went, though it was a selfless act of wanting to protect them from the danger he always finds himself in with the Commission.

They say life flashes before your eyes when you’re in your last moments; that’s how Five knows he probably won’t come back from this. Memories flood into his head faster than he can process, playing out in front of him like a movie. Allison trying to teach him and Luther a dance routine to ‘Take on Me’, but all of them being awful dancers. Klaus painting his nails in the alternating colours of black and red after coming out to him for the first time. Diego teaching him how to throw knives at targets. Vanya comforting him and making his favourite peanut butter and marshmallow sandwich after a long, exhausting training session. Last, but certainly not least, Ben, calming Five down from his first ever panic attack.

Five smiles and lets out a painful cry. “I’m sorry,” he chokes, gasping for air that doesn’t seem to be reaching his lungs. “I’m sorry. I… Couldn’t sa- save… You all.”

His eyes fall shut, and as he sluggishly opens them, he finds himself in a dark void with no stab wound. “Hello? Hello? Is anyone there?” He shouts in confusion, words echoing as if he’s in a large empty space. Footsteps, more specifically the sound of high heels, can be heard in all directions. “Hello? Who are you?” Five asks with panic present in his voice. The footsteps come to a harsh stop, and in the distance Five sees a white figure standing by a door which resembles the one of the room he was in, numbered 12. He walks towards the figure, his footsteps feeling oddly light. “Am I dead?”

“Not yet,” the woman’s voice replies. She appears to be wearing an off-white, tattered wedding dress covered in dirt.

“Dolores?” His heart beats loudly in his ears, threatening to deafen him as he tries to comprehend what the hell is happening. “No. I’m definitely dead.”

“You’re not dead, Five,” she tuts, and tears flow from his tired eyes.

“Is it really you?” he cries, and she smiles at him, tucking her long brunette hair behind her ear. “I thought I lost I- Where did you go?” he extends his arm out, trying to reach her.

“You did lose me, remember?” she teases, turning to walk through the door, escaping his reach. A sharp pain erupts in his chest, which at first he thinks is just his heart trying to put together the shattered pieces. However, as the pain becomes significantly more prominent, he lifts up his shirt to reveal a deep purple bruise. ‘Internal bleeding, shit’.

Five tentatively opens the door which Dolores left through, and finds himself now standing in front of the Umbrella Academy. Through the window, he can see a warmly lit fire with his siblings huddled together and buried under a pile of blankets, throwing popcorn into each other’s mouths. Five grips the door handle which is piping hot and it singes his hand, creating small blisters on his palm. “You can’t open it, Five,” Dolores says softly.

“I want to be with them,” he weeps, wiping the tears from his eyes that won’t stop no matter how hard he tries.

“I know.”

He takes Dolores’ hands and holds them gently in his own. “I want to be with you.”

“You can’t stay here. The world needs you,” she places her hand on his cheek, stroking his face. “Your siblings need you.” 

“I don’t want to leave you again,” he sniffles.

“I’m always with you. Til death do us part, remember?”

He chuckles which comes out more like a strangled sob, “yeah, I remember.” The pain in his chest makes a reappearance, and this time blood soaks through his shirt, running down his body, visible under his shorts. 

Dolores’ eyes radiate sadness and sympathy. “You don’t have long. You need to wake up.”

“I don’t know what to do,” he responds through panicked breaths.

“You could put your theory to practise”, she suggests as she turns to walk away from him.

“Dolores, wait! Please don’t leave me! Dolores!” He screams at the top of his lungs as he desperately tries to move his body, but his feet refuse to leave the ground. “Dolor-”

Five opens his eyes, feeling a stinging sensation on the side of his face. He’s back in the hotel room. Back in reality. “You didn’t have to slap him,” Klaus sighs. “That’s technically child abuse.”

“He wouldn’t wake up, what else was I supposed to do?” Diego growls, his face anxious as he takes in the sight of his older-younger sibling bleeding out with a knife stuck in his chest.

“I don’t know? Maybe not give him brain damage on top of a stab wound?” Klaus responds sarcastically, and Diego ignores him, too occupied with his dying brother.

“‘M not… A child.”

“See, what did I tell you. He’s fine!” Klaus laughs nervously and Five coughs, spitting more blood from his mouth. “Okay he’s not fine. What do we do?” He turns to Diego for reassurance, but there is none he can give.

“I don’t think there is anything we can do,” Diego whispers; a tear falls from his cheek onto Five’s nose. “I guess we can only comfort him.” Ben puts his hand on Klaus’ back who is holding his head in his hands, hiding his anguish.

“Fuck… Off,” Five manages to say. Diego looks at him with concern, and Klaus lets out a little laugh. “I’m… Not gonna… D-Die.” Five shakily lifts his hand to grab Diego’s arm, his grip very loose, all strength now gone. “I need y-you to… P-Pull it.. Out.” Diego wants to question if that’s a good idea since it’s the only thing stopping him from bleeding out entirely, but the look of determination in his brother’s eyes makes him trust that he knows what he’s doing. He takes Five’s hand in his own, biting his lip as he notices how cold it is, and grips it tightly as if he’s holding onto him for dear life; his other hand has a grip on the knife, but he’s hesitant to pull. “I’ll be okay,” Five reassures, blood caking his teeth. 

“Are you ready?”

“Wait. I need y-you to.. Help m-me stand.. After.” 

Klaus scurries to Five’s side and holds his free hand. “Anything else?” Five’s eyes suddenly close shut, causing both his brothers to shake him in panic. “Five, wake up. Don’t give up on me now old man.” Diego lightly taps his face, learning from his mistake earlier, ‘less he feel Klaus’ wrath. 

“W- Wha.. ‘M ‘wake,” he slurs with a groan. “Jus’ d-do it.” Klaus holds back from making a joke about Shia Labeouf as he assesses this is not the appropriate time.

With no hesitation this time around, Diego pulls the freakishly sharp knife from the boy’s chest, and blood splatters onto his face as Five lets out a blood-curdling scream filled with agonising pain. Klaus and Diego pull at their brother’s arms, bringing him to his feet, and Ben helps support his back as he materialises into a blue ghostly form. Using the sudden rush of adrenaline, Five tightly scrunches his hands into fists and a light emanates from them, illuminating the room like he’s a star in the night sky. Another scream forces its way from his mouth as the light grows bigger, brighter. The three brothers both let go and take a step back, watching their brother in astonishment as he gradually floats higher and higher in the air, the wound wondrously disappearing until the hole is completely gone. After a second, the light fades, and Five falls from where he was suspended in the air; Ben catches him with his tentacles before the boy hits the hard ground, and Klaus pats him on the back, Ben silently nodding in return.

“You good?” Diego asks Five, who looks a little shell-shocked.

“Need coffee,” he murmurs, swaying unsteadily after Ben tries to stand him up. Five quickly loses his balance when a sudden spell of dizziness takes over him, but Klaus is there to catch him in his arms.

“I’ve got you,” he whispers, pulling him into a tight but gentle hug. “I’ve got you.” He feels a wetness through his t-shirt as the smaller boy sobs into his chest, his body jittering with every pained noise he makes. Klaus rubs his hand through his brother’s matted hair, trying to soothe the crying child who he is cradled in his arms; if the situation was any different, he’d maybe feel disgust at the sight of the blood and sweat that latches onto his skin every time his hand combs through a bit of his hair. In this moment though, he is just glad his brother isn’t dead.

“I- I thought I lost all of you,” Five mumbles into his younger-older brother’s chest.

Diego laughs, trying not to cry. “We thought we lost you.”

“Our little brother is so selfless, even when he’s dying,” Klaus chuckles.

“‘M sorry,” he cries harder, and Klaus feels guilty.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Ben exclaims, wondering if he is still visible to the others. He receives confirmation when Five turns to look at him with his tear stained face; even as a ghost Five still manages to break his heart. “We’re so proud of you.” The boy nods in response, drying his face with the part of his shirt that isn’t covered in blood.

“As much as I love this heartwarming family bonding session, can I just ask. What in the actual fuck was that?” Diego questions.

Five thinks the answer is obvious, but he forgets the rest of his family lack intelligence. “I time travelled.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You're probably wondering, 'time travel? How?' And I will answer that question...
> 
> ...In the next chapter.
> 
> Bye for now!


	3. Past and Present

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a short while since the last update; I work full-time and get too tired to write :( That being said, I'll try to keep updates a week apart. I don't like making people wait too long.

”Exqueeze me?”

“I time travelled,” Five repeats nonchalantly, eyeing his dumbfounded brothers for their response; he watches as their faces contort, the gears working hard in their brains to find any logical explanation. If they were to think any harder, smoke would come out of their ears, Five thinks. Despite the situation, Five can’t help but smile - it’s been a while since he’s been the smartest guy in the room, and he missed this feeling. He especially missed his siblings.

From their childhood through to their adolescence (aside from Five who disappeared shortly after his thirteenth birthday), the Hargreeves were homeschooled by the infamous Sir Reginald Hargreeves himself. The man was a self-declared genius, rightly so, but definitely not a people-person. Not the best teacher either. He would use unconventional methods of teaching, such as handing out severe punishments for incorrect answers or low test scores. One example would be the time Klaus misspelled the word ‘business’ in an essay he had to write, which resulted in him spending 6 hours in the mausoleum - he ended up writing an entire A4 page ranting about how he thought the spelling of business was weird and shouldn’t be spelt like that. Reginald didn’t approve. That was another 6 hours in the mausoleum.

Naturally, seeing his siblings being punished really pissed Five off; he didn’t know why he understood things quicker than the others, or why he was just smarter in general. After Reginald had locked Vanya in a cupboard for a few hours, Five decided enough was enough. From that day, he made it his mission to tutor his siblings and to help them avoid punishment at all costs. The nights he spent with his siblings, teaching them maths and science and English, were some of the best moments in his life; he’d never forget the look on their faces when they’d pass a test and be free from torture. He’d never forget the way they’d listen to him with respect like he was an important figure with authority. How they looked up at him and always came to him for help like he was their protector.

So when Five thinks about being the smartest guy in the room, he can’t help but reflect on moments from his past, the times he spent with the ones he loves the most.

“Five?” Diego calls out, breaking Five out of his long train of thought.

“Sorry,” he awkwardly laughs, putting his hands into his pockets. “Seeing you think so hard just reminded me of something.” Diego wants to know what his brother was remembering, but he knows better than to ask. Maybe he’ll get him to open up one day.

“Hold on hold on. So if you time travelled, then how are you still here? How is everything unchanged?” Klaus asks, speed-walking in circles as if it somehow helps his thinking process.

“I simply travelled backwards in time, restoring my body to its previous state before the stab wound, and then projected my body forward in time to the present without altering my conscience and time in the world around me, essentially existing in the past and present timeline simultaneously.”

Klaus stops his useless pacing and turns to Five who is still stood with his hands in his pockets, clearly not realising the significance of what he just said, which slightly annoys him. “Oh, is that all?” He says mockingly, receiving a murderous stare from Five. 

Diego thinks his brain might explode. “I’m going to pretend that I understood everything you just said.”

“You needn’t pretend, Diego. I know you don’t and will possibly never understand,” Five retorts with a smug expression.

“Bastard.”

“How did you know you could do that?” Klaus interrupts.

“I didn’t,” he laughs, unsettled. “Honestly, the probability of that actually working was approximately 8%. Under the circumstances, I had no other choice.”  
  
Diego grabs the boy by his shoulders and shakes him. “You could’ve died.”  
  
“I would’ve died if I did nothing. Besides, it all worked out in the end. It’s not like it matters now.” Diego quickly pulls his smaller brother into a tight hug. “What are you-”

“It does matter, okay?” Diego whispers, and Five finds himself as his thirteen year old self again.

_After a dull, taxing day of interviews with the press, everyone had retired to their bedrooms to sleep. Five, on the other hand, had other plans. Most nights he had found it hard to fall asleep, whether it be because of an undiagnosed problem he had like insomnia, or because he was afraid of sleeping and not being there for his siblings when they needed him the most. So, as usual, Five found himself drinking coffee at the ungodly hour of 2 in the morning. That’s when he heard the quiet whimpering from across the hallway._

_He tiptoed tentatively on the wooden floor, being careful not to wake anyone, especially Reginald. He deduced that the sound was coming from Diego’s room, and pushed open the door to find his brother bright red, face stained with tears, sat on the edge of his bed._

_“Um, what’s… What’s up… Bro?” He said, unsure of what to say. Five was never the best at showing emotion - if only they knew how much he cared._

_Diego let out an embarrassed laugh and quickly tried to hide his tears by wiping them with his sleeve. “Th-That doesn’t suit you. Don’t ever sa-say it again.”_

_Five smiled, treating the laugh he received as a small victory. “Okay. I won’t,” he replied, “but only if you tell me what’s wrong.”_

_“Why, so you can laugh at me?” Diego responded, anger present in his tone._

_“Why would I laugh at you?”_  
  
“Because you think you’re better than me.” Five was taken aback by his brother’s hurtful words. Whilst it was true that Five was better at certain things, there were also things Diego was better at, like most physical activities. He only had himself to blame for the way his siblings thought of him though. It wasn’t like he was ever the most affectionate or sympathetic towards the others. Five turned to walk out the door, defeated, until Diego stopped him. “Wait!” He called out, surprising Five and himself. “Sorry,” he whispered as he looked down at his hands, ashamed.

_“It’s okay,” Five replied, and walked to stand in front of the boy perched on the bed. He knelt down in front of him to reach eye level and placed his hand gently on Diego’s knee. “Please tell me what’s wrong. I promise I won’t laugh.”_

_“It’s nothing, I’m being s-s-stupid,” Diego said, stifling his cries._

_“I’m not leaving until you tell me,” Five stated, stern but with worry._

_Diego, much like Five, had never been one to show much emotion either. For his brother to see him like this was extremely degrading - especially that brother being Five, the one who would berate his siblings for the littlest of things. It was during that moment when Diego realised the tough guy act was a facade, and maybe his sociopath of a brother did actually care. Or he would use this moment against him for the rest of his life to fuel some sort of sick game. It was a gamble he was willing to take. “My stutter was really ba-bad today. I think I was nervous be-because of the cameras.” Five nodded to show he was listening. “Anyway. I could see the interviewer ge-getting annoyed. Dad could see it too. He told them to cu-cut my part of the interview because I was embarrassing him.” A tear escaped his eye, but he was too drained to hide it. “After the interviews were over, he called me pa-pathetic and worthless, and said I was a disappointment to the academy. That if it weren’t for my ability, I’d be a no-nobody.”_

_Five tightly clenched his jaw as he tried to contain the rage that burned inside him, and Diego looked at him, scared of what he was going to say. “Sorry you had to go through that.”_

_“Yeah well, it doesn’t matter now.”_

_Five pulled Diego’s head into his chest, which made him go wide-eyed with shock at the sudden show of affection. “It does matter, okay?” The boy stayed silent in his brother’s embrace. “Don’t listen to the old man, he’s an asshole,” Five said so matter-of-factly, prompting a laugh out of Diego who was close to sobbing. “You’re not pathetic and you’re not worthless. You’re strong, funny and smart - despite all the times I call you an idiot,” Five smiled as he pulled away from the hug and held his brother’s head between his hands. “And most importantly, even if you didn’t have an ability, you’re still my brother. You’ll always be my brother.”_

_Diego sobbed harder and wrapped his arms around his brother’s torso as he cried on his shoulder. They stayed like that until Diego’s crying had subsided and he had fallen asleep in his brother’s arms. Five unwrapped himself and gently placed the sleeping child into his bed, careful not to wake him, and then left to finish the cold coffee that was in his room. He spent the rest of that night drawing probability maps of the consequences that would occur should his father ‘accidentally’ find a knife in his throat._

_As soon as morning came, and it couldn’t come soon enough, Five made his way to his father’s private office and kicked the door open. “Number Five, what do you think you’re doing?” Reginald shouted as he looked up from whatever nonsense he was writing in his journal._

_“What am I doing?” He marched towards his father’s desk and slammed his hands down, causing Reginald to jump in his seat slightly. His hands would be bruised later. “What am I doing? What are you doing, telling my brother that he is worthless, making him feel like he is unimportant?”_

_“That is not your concern. Go to your room immediately. I’ll have you punished for your insubordination later,” the man replied as he resumed writing._

_Five grabbed the journal and threw it across the room, which made it collide with a vase and caused it to smash; white roses scattered across the floor and lay in a pile of glass shards. Reginald refused to react to Five’s tantrum, which caused him to feel uneasy. “Not my concern? He’s family. Maybe that word means nothing to you. I don’t care. But don’t you ever speak to him, or mum, or anyone else in this house that way again, or you’ll have me to answer to.” Five leaned over the desk, closer to Reginald’s face. “And we both know what I’m capable of.”_

_Reginald leaned back in his chair with crossed arms. “You’re the worst of them.”_

_“Don’t I know it!” Five smiled and headed out of the office. “I’m going to my room now. I look forward to seeing you for my punishment later.” With that, he slammed the door as hard as he could, which caused a few of his siblings to run down the stairs to investigate the noise. Luther and Vanya stared at him from the balcony, but didn’t say anything; they thought he was in trouble for something, so best not to get involved. Instead, they watched as he walked past them on the stairs and gave an obviously fake smile to hide the fact that his body would not stop shaking._

_Five reached his room and shut the door behind him. Everything started spinning and then his vision turned to black, almost as if he had suddenly gone blind. His breathing became erratic and he couldn’t control it, despite the multiple attempts to calm himself down. Ringing in his ears grew louder and louder until it threatened to deafen him. Five paced around his room in multiple ever-changing directions and pulled at his hair as he struggled to breathe. It felt like he was dying. Was he dying?_

_Muffled voices could barely be heard outside his room, but he couldn’t focus on them. All he could focus on was the fact that he just threatened a man who will undoubtedly make his life a living hell from this point onwards. That, and the fact that he was about to pass out at any second._

_Ben burst through his door and looked at him confused for a second before he grabbed Five’s hands and guided him to sit on his bed. “Hey, Five? Hey, look at me.” Five struggled to sit still and focus his eyes. “Five, you’re okay. Look at me,” Ben instructed again, and this time Five managed to look at his brother who was surprisingly calm. “Good, you’re doing good.”_

_“I can’t- I can’t breathe,” Five struggled to say._

_“You’re having a panic attack. It will pass, but right now you just need to focus on taking a deep breath in through your nose, out through your mouth, okay? Can you try that for me?” Five nodded his head in a rapid motion. “Do it with me. In 2.. 3.. 4.. Out 2.. 3.. 4..” Five imitated his brother’s breathing as best he could, though still a little too fast for Ben’s liking. “You’re doing so well, keep going. In 2.. 3.. 4.. Out 2.. 3… 4..”_

_After what seemed like an eternity to Five, he managed to regain control of his breathing, and his vision cleared. “Thanks,” he said, looking away, humiliated._

_“No problem. I get them sometimes too. Most times they happen after I’ve used my power. Mum caught me in the middle of my first one - I still remember it. I thought I was having a heart attack,” he laughed, and Five felt guilty for feeling relieved. “Did you want to talk about it?”_

_“Not really. Sorry.”_

_“Okay. You know where to find me if you ever want to talk about it. It helps, you know.”_

_“Okay.”_

“Five?” Diego shakes him. “Five?”

“Oh my God, you killed him! Again!” Klaus exclaims, and Diego mouths ‘too soon’.

“Hello? Five?” 

“What?” Five says, blinking rapidly.

“You okay? That’s like, twice you’ve spaced out now.” Ben asks, unaware that his siblings can no longer hear or see him.

“Ben wants to know if you’re okay ‘cause that’s twice you’ve gone into a vegetable state. Do you have a brain injury man?” 

“Dude, Klaus! Don’t say horrible shit like that and pass it off as if I said it!” Ben panics.

“Fine,” he says, irritated. “He didn’t call you a vegetable and I added the last part. But he clearly thought it. _Pleasedon’thurtme.”_

Five smiles and turns to the empty space beside Klaus. “Hey Ben, do you think after I- _we’ve_ stopped the apocalypse, we could finally have that talk?”

If ghosts could cry, Ben would definitely be crying right now. “I’d like that.”

Klaus puts his hands together and looks back and forth at his siblings as if he is a mediator in a debate considering both sides of an argument. “Sorry to ruin the moment but Ben isn’t standing next to me so you just talked to thin air and made yourself look like a schizo.” Five quickly loses his cool and storms towards Klaus, pulling him by the collar, bringing his face merely an inch away from his.

“Klaus, stop antagonising Five. Five, stop trying to kill Klaus. Have you forgotten Vanya is on a rampage and we need to stop her?” Diego reminds them, and Five lets go of Klaus, pushing him backwards which makes the taller sibling flinch.

“You guys go on without me. The Handler said she left something for me in room 5.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound ominous at all. She chose a room number which specifically matches your name. I bet it’s a shrine full of weird ugly portraits of you,” Klaus jokes, but then stops and physically shudders at the sudden realisation that that is definitely something she would do, and it sends chills down his spine.

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“No, you’re the one being ridiculous for thinking we’d let you go alone to a room some psycho lady who literally just tried to murder you, told you to go to,” Diego says, and for once, Five actually agrees. It wouldn’t be wise to go alone since it could be another trap, and Five learned that the hard way - he won’t repeat the same mistake.

Five sighs. “Fine.”

The band of brothers slowly make their way to the room at the end of the corridor, and Five feels his body beginning to sweat again as the smell of rotting bodies enters his nose uninvited. He so badly wants to throw up his insides even though he can’t remember the last time he ate, and his legs want nothing more than to collapse onto the floor. Nevertheless, he pushes on, not wanting to show any more weakness than what he’s already shown in the past few days.

“Smells like something died in here,” Diego casually observes, receiving a glance of intrigue from Klaus. “What? I’ve been to the morgue plenty of times in my day. I know what a dead body smells like.”

“Do I smell?” Ben asks and is immediately ignored.

“Good, so we’ve all been around dead people. Some more than others…” Klaus replies, looking back at his shorter brother who is too quiet for his liking. “We don’t have to do this you know.” But Klaus knows that’s a lie, and Five knows he’s just saying that to make him feel better.

Once they reach the door, there is no denying what that horrible stench is. They each stand silently, unsettled and tense, thinking of the worst possibilities that are locked away in front of them. Who is behind the door? It is someone they know? Why does it smell so bad? So many questions run through their minds, and the answer is just the twist of a doorknob away. Yet, they find themselves unable to move.

Ben figures that since he’s already dead, he might as well be the one to go first. Klaus opens the door for him making it slightly ajar and it creaks like they’re in a horror movie - they might as well be; Ben sticks his head through the crack. “Um. Guys? What the hell is this?”

Klaus pushes the door open further until the room is fully visible. “What the f-”

“-Is that… Us?”

“Well this is awkward,” a dead Klaus laughs.

“Oh _shit.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much plot in this chapter but some good old character building. Noice.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :)
> 
> I'm a little rusty since this is my first fic in years, but I hope I did our beautiful children some justice. The rest of the siblings will be involved more in the next chapter, so I hope you stick around.
> 
> Mayhaps Five will find he has a new time-related power?


End file.
